When the Heart Calls Home
by SilverStream101
Summary: A town with murders happening every day, a mysterious organization, and shadows lurking on every corner searching for their next prey. AU - NO YAOI, YURI OR LITTLE IF ANY ROMANCE!
1. The Forbidden

**When the Heart Calls Home**

Hey there! Okay, this is my very first time attempting to write a chapter story... I'm not entirely sure of this but I thought I might just test my limits a little bit and try something new! This is an **AU **One Piece fanfiction and it's an idea I've been entertaining for a long time so I thought I'd try putting it into a story.

**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own One Piece or any of its characters, I just like to play with them.

**WARNINGS: **This fiction has violence, blood and a bit of cursing in it and therefore is rated **T **just to be on the safe side. I made Luffy slightly OOC in this I think because of the situation I put him in in this story. But it is intentional.

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***The Forbidden***

Pain filled him. It was hard to move and every bone in his body hurt. The seven year old boy with dark, ebony hair and soulful brown eyes was locked up in the basement of his mother's house, his shuddering form barely visible in the corner of the dark little room. Black and blue bruises lined up all along his small frame and many scars reached across his back and chest; all proof of the abuse the child had been put through by none other than his own flesh and blood, his mother. The basement in which he was currently kept in was small and the air smelled musty. All around him there were stacks of old, rotting books and boxes which kept things that were meant to be kept secret, and "were forbidden" mother had said. But, like most children, the raven-haired boy had not been able to contain his curiosity. Telling him specifically _**not **_to look inside the boxes was practically like _**begging**_ him to go and take a peek. So of coarse, Luffy, as that was the boy's name, had gone to "explore" the boxes for a little bit. After all, it had only been a peek, nothing to get worked up over. But mother had caught him and she had been angry. She had beaten him and let out her frustrations on him with the "cutting knife" as Luffy called it. Whenever the "cutting knife" would come out, Luffy knew that he was soon going to have another scar mark his body. She had screamed at him and a look of pure malice had come over her features as she had said in a sick, sadistic voice,

"I think it's time I start to mark that cute face of yours; it reminds me too much of _**him**_!" She had spat the word "him" like it was a burning coal in her mouth. And so, she had made yet another mark; this time stabbing him under his left eye.

Shivering gently at the memory, Luffy reached up with his small hands to touch the deep scratch running under his eye, the blood of the wound still streaming down his cheek. He didn't understand why she had gotten so angry over him discovering a little red book! He hadn't even opened it yet! Mother had removed it from the boxes and threatened that if he were to look inside one of them again, he would get more than just "a few slaps over the head," his mother had so gently put it, in that deceivingly sweet voice of hers. On top of all that, he was punished for disobeying her with the worst punishment of all; no food for tonight or tomorrow. A small whine emitted from Luffy's throat as he thought of this. How was he going to survive without food~! A childish pout formed on the boy's lips as his stomach gave a growl and he looked back over to the boxes. Maybe he could… no, he shook his head. That would only make mother angrier with him. It was so cold in here… the young child crawled over behind one of the bigger boxes in the room and pulled a pile of the musty books over to him, providing a flimsy shelter from the cold that swept in through the barred windows. There were only two, but it was always cold at nighttime, and the breeze felt like needles against his charred skin. Along with the "cutting knife," Luffy had also received mother's "special punishment" tonight, which involved boiling hot water.

_At least she never uses oil. _Luffy thought to himself. He remembered reading once in one of the books here that hot oil would hurt a lot more than hot water. He was glad mother didn't use that on him. But why had she been so angry about the little red book? He was only going to take a look inside. He wasn't really going to _**read**_ it. It had fit perfectly in his little hand and it was perfectly blank. There had not been a single engraving of words on there or any markings whatsoever.

Sighing gently, Luffy decided not to dwell on it. Mother would get angry. Closing his eyes, the child began drifting into the restless world of memories coming to him in dreams. But even in sleep, the aching in his young heart would not disappear.

_**~Dreams~**_

"Ac- Ac – Acey!" A small baby cooed while being cradled in the arms of a three year old, dark short hair coming down in light curls. The older of the two held the infant protectively against his chest, trying to shield the young child from their crazed mother.

"_**Him**_! It's that disgusting bundle in your arms that did this! It's your _**brother's**_ fault that he did this to us!" The woman before them no longer looked like the woman that young Ace had once called "mother." Her once long, black silk-like hair was now nothing more than a greasy, tangled mess and her chocolate brown eyes were almost a crimson red from crying. Her voice had become hoarse from screaming and black rings were seen underneath both of her eyes from lack of sleep. In short, she was a complete mess.

"No! Luffy didn't do anything!" The boy cried, anger and fierce protectiveness showing in his eyes. And that had been the last straw for the woman… she began attempting to beat the wide-eyed child in its older brother's arms, but in the end, Ace always protected him and ended up with the beatings. The young child began to cry and even at such a blissful age the small infant felt that something wasn't quite right.

- Four Years Later -

"Nee-chan! Where are you going? Come back! Don't leave me!" The boy Luffy cried to his older brother. Why was his Nee-chan acting so strange? And who was that strange man with the scary face? Ace was currently standing next to a tall man in a dark suit. Mother had let the mysterious man into the house and the blood staining the walls and the spilt alcohol on the stained tile floor didn't seem to bother the man in the least. He stood with an emotionless expression on his face, his hand tightly gripping his big brother's shoulder. He was murmuring something to mother but Luffy couldn't make out the words. Ace's eyes were shadowed as he was directed towards the door leading to the outside world.

"Ace… where are you going?" Luffy rushed over to him and tugged at his hand, looking up at him with wide innocent eyes. "Will you be coming back?" Shakily taking a breath, Ace bent down to Luffy so they were eye level and told him,

"I – I'm going to be going away for a while Lu," his eyes suddenly shone with fierce determination,

"But I promise I'll be coming back for you one day. Just promise me you'll hold through little brother. Promise me you'll hold through for me."

Luffy was scared. He didn't exactly understand what Ace was asking of him, but he nodded despite that. He trusted his brother.

"Lucci. Take my son away from here already. I don't want him to be influenced by this disgrace of a child any longer." Mother suddenly sneered, pointing at the confused Luffy. Ace sent her a heated glare and pulled Luffy closer to him, protectively wrapping his arms around him, but he said nothing. He had been able to protect his brother thus far, but now there would be no one there to defend the child from his mother's madness. The worry shown clear in his eyes, but he knew, there was nothing he could do. Not with Lucci here.

"Come with me boy." The man known as Lucci spoke coldly. Ace forced himself to let go of his brother, and was roughly pushed out the door. Luffy watched the two retreating figures step outside and into a black mustang where a short man with dark sunglasses was waiting for the two. It was dark outside, just like it was inside the eerie house where he lived with mother. The sky was filled with heavy clouds and not a single ray of sun could be seen. The air was cold and the wind blew harshly against the old house. This place was utterly isolated save for the three, now two, people living in mother's house.

"Ace!" Luffy called, "When are you coming ba –" He was cut short just as mother slammed the door shut and turned her eyes towards the frightened boy. Something wasn't right; something was very, very wrong. Why was mother looking at him like that? He shivered when he saw the malicious glint in her eyes as she said in a voice dripping with honey,

"Now, my sweet little Luffy, how about we play a little game?" A sadistic smirk played on her chapped lips. She lunged at him and had her "fun" with him. It was the first time Luffy had felt the sharp hilt of a knife going so deeply into his fragile skin. And when it was all over, mother leaving a bleeding and weeping Luffy in her wake as she went to fetch another bottle of liquor, Luffy decided that games weren't so fun anymore.

_**~End of Dreams~**_

Luffy awoke with a start, tears gathering at the corners of his eyes as he remembered the day Nee-chan had left him. But upon realizing this, he quickly wiped them away with his small hand and pulled his knees closer to his chest, wrapping his arms around them. He stared blankly up ahead. He wasn't supposed to cry. Mother had forbidden it and he had learned the hard way not to disobey her rules. He missed his brother. His wide brown eyes glanced up out of the barred windows. It was night outside and he could see the faint glow of the pale moonlight filtering in through the window. Oh how he longed to see it; the outside world. He had never been outside before and he wondered briefly what the "stars" his brother had once told him about looked like or what the mysterious sun felt like when he went out into its rays. After a while, Luffy's eyes wondered back over to the boxes. He wondered what other type of forbidden things were in there. The little red book had been taken from him and the boy itched to open it up and look inside. But how was he to do that with mother guarding it? A growl came from his small tummy and Luffy let out a quiet moan,

"I'm hungry~~" he whined. A pout was beginning to form on his lips again, but than the boy decided that he'd go and take another peek inside the boxes to see what was hiding inside. A wide, cheeky grin spread across his face. It was an adventure! He'd just have to be careful not to get caught again! Nodding to himself decisively, his mouth formed in a thin line of determination, he began to crawl towards the box that he had found the mysterious little red book inside. Ignoring his body's screams for rest, he stood up and looked over into the worn out box. There wasn't anything of much significance in it; a few books here and there, a couple of old, ripped clothes that looked like they came out of medieval times, and… ah-ha! Something caught Luffy's eye. It was, seemingly, some kind of Diary or old Journal. Reaching out, he grabbed the old book and pulled it out of the box. He sat down beside the box and looked at the book in awe. This, unlike the red booklet, had intricate designs on it. It was bound in dark brown leather and its edges were a little worn out, but the strange little signs that marked the border of this new discovery are what caught Luffy's eye. They were what looked like little figures shaped in human forms. But they didn't look fully human. But then, the book was worn out and the pictures were a little hard to make out. Wiping the dust off of the book, he stared at the title that was written in black ink. It wasn't very neat. The person who wrote the title looked like they had been in a hurry. It read,

"Harbor 5.23" and underneath that there was also something else written that was too hard to make out. Luffy was about to open the book when he saw the shadow of his mother being cast over his small body. He froze. Oh no! Mother had found him… he had been so preoccupied with his little adventure that he hadn't even heard her coming! He slowly turned around and came face to face with his mother.

"Oh, I see you've found something of your interest~!" She said in that painfully sweet, sugar-coated voice of hers. But Luffy could sense the anger emitting from her in waves.

"I… I didn't open it! I swear! I just wanted to have a little adventure!" He pouted; defiance in his chocolate brown eyes.

"Oh..? An adventure?" She laughed humorlessly and snatched the book out of his bloodied hands, still from the wound he had received earlier, and glowered down at him. She picked him up and threw him against the wall and a deafening "crack" was heard as the young boy's body slid down to the floor.

"I'll give you an _**adventure**_!" The crazed woman screamed as she aimed the first kick to his ribs. But Luffy took it with only some small whimpers escaping him every now and then. Tonight wasn't going to be a good night, he knew. He could smell the strong alcoholic breath of his mother.

_I probably won't be able to move again for a while after this. _His stomach gave another loud growl. _… I'm hungry._

As Luffy slowly drifted into unconsciousness, the last thing on his mind was imagining a large piece of steak all for him and him alone to devour. His mouth watered at the thought… tomorrow would be a better day, he hoped.

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_Well! That was the first chapter! I'm not really sure if I should continue this or not but if anyone is interested in it, than I'll continue it. And yea, I know this fiction has a crappy title; I'm not entirely sure what to name it yet so it might change at one point... or not; it all depends. Anyways, reviews would be greatly appreciated! Flames will be shunned! ^^_


	2. All about the Money

**When the Heart Calls Home**

Yay! I finished another chapter! :D Nothing much to say right now other than **I do not own One Piece or any of its characters. It all belongs to Eiichiro Oda!** ^^ And I just wanted to say thank you again for all the reviews! I appreciate it very greatly! Well, enjoy!

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***All about the Money***

Luffy awoke with a start as mother had thrown something hard at him.

"Get up! You don't have time to laze around Luffy! We're leaving!" The boy slowly lifted his heavy lids, blinking the sleep from his eyes. Where were they going? Mother never took him anywhere out of the house before, so where was she planning on taking him now? The young boy furrowed his brows in confusion. Maybe this was just going to be another one of her little games…? He tried getting up, but whenever he tried to move, he was rewarded with sharp waves of pain traveling up his body. He groaned inwardly as his eyes caught what his mother had thrown at him. It was an intense sort of perfume type thing to cover up the scent of blood and alcohol. Mother had practically emptied the whole bottle onto herself in her hurry.

_Maybe mother is going to have another strange visitor. Yea, that's probably it. _Luffy crinkled his nose as he smelled the cheap incense. Forcing himself into a standing position, Luffy looked down at himself. He was covered in scars, bruises, and dried blood still from last night's "play time" with mother. Who was going to come visit them? The raven-haired boy wondered. And his eyes immediately lit up; maybe Ace was going to come back for him now? Mother's voice abruptly broke Luffy's train of thoughts,

"Here," the pale form of mother knelt before her child with a white stained cloth soaked in water, "Clean yourself with this. Make sure you don't forget the blood on your face either." She roughly pushed it into the worn boy's hands and stood to go into the kitchen.

_She's going to get some food. _Luffy drooled at the thought of food but quickly forced the image of meat away from his mind and got to work to cleaning himself up. He winced slightly when the cool, wet cloth made contact with his burnt tummy but slowly began to grow accustomed to the circular scrubbing of cloth against skin. Shortly after finishing up his face, mother came hurrying back into the dark living room, where Luffy had drifted into unconsciousness the night before and been left there for most of the night. Mother had cleaned some of the blood on the once white tile floor too! She came to him with a moldy piece of bread that looked like it had been dug up from the trash.

"Eat this," she said. The seven year old quickly snatched it from mother's hands and in a fraction of a second it was already gone. Despite that it had been rotting, it had been delicious for the boy… but he was still hungry. He was about to open his mouth to complain that he was still hungry but thought better of it when mother gave him a cold glare. Roughly grabbing him by the arm and shoving him towards the door leading to the outside world, Luffy had to suppress a cry as another agonizing wave of pain shot through his small body. Tears were beginning to gather at his eyes but he forced them away. It hurt! His body felt like it was being stabbed repeatedly with millions of needles all over. Swallowing another cry of pain, the unstable child stepped outside after mother. His bare feet touched cold cement ground. It was still dark outside and there was not a single star in the sky. The wind did nothing to improve his already tormented body.

Luffy flinched slightly and looked up with wide dark eyes when mother grabbed his hand firmly between her own.

"Mother, where are we going?" He asked boldly. But mother didn't seem to have heard him. Cocking his head to the side, he wondered what was wrong with her. Usually she would harshly rebuke him if he asked something sounding slightly questioning to her ears. Either that or she'd turn to him with the sweetest smile on her face and motion for him to come over to her, only for him to be thrown against the wall with a sick scream by her. Instead she simply stared straight ahead with pained, distant eyes. She began walking hurriedly, dragging her son behind her and snarling a "keep up" every now and then. Luffy could not see where he was going and stumbled after her quietly but that didn't stop his curious eyes from wandering. It was too dark to make out anything much, for even the moon was covered in clouds during this cold night, but the new scents and sounds and sensations around him were enough for him to give out a little gasp of awe or make his eyes sparkle with wonder when he felt something cool or smelled something "out of this world," his imagination already painting wild images of whatever it looked like that had impressed him so.

Soon, dawn was slowly spreading its glorious wings across the dark sky, painting the clouds with deep violet, pink, red and orange colours. Luffy's eyes went impossibly wider than before as he gazed toward the eastern sky. It looked so cool! The sun's warmth still hadn't breached through the thick clouds that lined the sky, but the colours looked like they had been gently painted onto the clouds with a very experienced brush. The boy was so engrossed in the scenery stretching before him that he failed to realize that mother and he had already come to a short stop. After a while longer of being completely enraptured by the steadily rising sun, he suddenly smelt something else. It smelled a lot like… salt and there was another unfamiliar scent mixed in with it. He turned wide eyes toward the smell and the mysterious sound he had been hearing. He gasped in complete and utter awe; he had never seen so much water in his life! Right before him was an endless sea of blue and the strange sound he had heard was that of white sea foam crashing onto the soft sand shining gold in the small rays of light beginning to peak through the clouds. Something stirred inside of him… he wanted to go and reach out to the rays of sun, he wanted to touch and feel the blue, salty liquid against his skin and he wanted so badly to walk through the seemingly soft sand. It looked so inviting, it looked so… _free. _Luffy thought longingly. He began tugging on mother's hand, wanting her to release her tight hold on him but her hand would only tighten around him more and she cast him a deathly warning glare. The boy gave up after a while and decided to try and take in the rest of his surroundings. He had never been here before, but than, mother had never let him out before and excitement tingled throughout his whole body that he was already beginning to forget his hunger pains and aching bones. A wide, happy grin spread across his face. It was a whole different adventure! This was much bigger than digging through mother's forbidden items! His large eyes sparkled with laughter as he thought of all the exploring he could do in this new place once mother would let his hand go! _As soon as mother is going to let go_, he thought to himself cheekily, _I'll make a run for it and go explore! _He knew that he would be dearly punished for it later on, but right now, he decided that it would be well worth it. At the thoughts of the new place, Luffy let out a small giggle which was quickly silenced by the deathly aura mother was emitting. Deciding to ignore her, he began to take in his surroundings further still.

Mother and he were standing on a wooden dock that stood on the shoreline. The place all around them was isolated. They were alone and when Luffy looked behind himself, facing away from the enticing blue waters, he saw a very old town. It had many old, tall grey buildings that had graffiti on them and were all in horrible shape. The buildings rose and towered over the small hill separating the town from the small dock and ocean. There were so many of them, Luffy had never seen such big things in his life! He had only had his imagination to accompany him when he read books about mystical buildings, (at least, they were mystical in Luffy's eyes) and the stories his older brother had sometimes told him about when he was still with him. But this was much better than a story! He saw a large, broken road going straight through the middle of the deserted town and traced with his eyes as it curved roughly around a corner. There were a few little, worn down houses in between the large towering buildings and a few ruined shops every now and then. It was a big place indeed! Through the boy's eyes it was at least. He began tugging at mother's hand to get her attention and she in turn turned cold, questioning eyes to him.

"I wanna go explore!" The enthusiastic child exclaimed with a wide excited grin. But mother only ignored him and turned her eyes back out to sea. Luffy followed mother's gaze until it fell onto a large ship in the distance.

Mother's grip tightened on his hand so hard that the poor boy was sure it would break, but than she said,

"He's coming. You are no longer going to be a burden to me after this." This confused Luffy. Who was coming? He dared not ask but simply looked at the ship that was slowly sailing closer towards the two figures standing still on the dock with wide eyed curiosity. Was something going to happen to him? But he didn't ask any questions. He simply watched and waited impatiently as the ship drew ever closer to them.

**~Break~**

"Oi, oi kid! Wake up! We're almost there and you'll probably want to get ready!" A short but well-built man said gruffly. He was almost completely bald and the little hair that he still had was graying quickly with his age. He wore loose clothes and had a long scar running along his right arm, probably from hard labor in his younger days. Now he was just the man that helped out on this large vessel with shipping people from place to place. He did this work for the Boss; and despite his detest for what the Boss made and trained people to do, he worked for him nonetheless. In the end, it was always the money. He had never actually met the man before, but he paid well so he did as he was told without questioning. Sighing, he looked at the kid currently sleeping on the deck. The small boy was curled up in a ball and was snoring very lightly. He thought he heard a small mumble of "meat" before the black haired kid rolled over onto his back and splayed out his arms and legs wide apart. Chuckling in amusement, the older man bent down and gently shook the small child awake. When the boy awoke, the man was greeted with large curious eyes looking back into his own old blue ones.

"Hey there kid. We're almost there so I thought I should wake you."

The boy had ebony hair and had a deep cut under his left eye. It still looked rather fresh. The boy looked up at the him and flashed him an ear-splitting grin,

"Okay!" The said boy chirped happily. But the joyful smile was quickly replaced with an annoyed frown when the child's stomach gave a loud growl. The old man chuckled. He stood up and reached down his hand, intending for the boy to grab it, and so he did.

"I'm Atsushi. What's your name kid?"

"I'm Luffy!" He said cheerfully, while at the same time looking up at the sky in wonder.

Atsushi raised a brow at the look in Luffy's eyes. The kid liked skies? He shrugged; it wasn't any of his business.

"Well Luffy, what do you say we get you something to eat before you meet the big guy, eh?" At the mention of food, Luffy looked at him in question, as if asking if he was being serious. But when he walked below deck with Atsushi in the lead and saw the huge feast before his eyes, he gave a loud shout of "FOOD!" and whizzed past the shocked old man, practically swallowing all the food on the table whole, and Atsushi was, to say the least, stunned. _Did he just…? _

"Ah! That was good! But I'm still hungry~!" Luffy whined but then turned to grin at the older man, "Thank you for the food Ossan!" The man sweat-dropped at that. _Is this kid for real?_

"Oi! Atsushi! We've arrived at the island! Mind helping out with the anchor up here?" A man called from above deck.

Suddenly ripped out of his thoughts, he called back,

"Yea! I'm on my way up!" He was about to turn to leave to start up the ladder leading back up onto the main deck when he stopped and turned back around towards the kid known as Luffy. He wasn't sure he trusted the little guy in the big kitchen where there was sure to be some food hiding in the refrigerator. He flashed the boy an annoyed look but softened slightly when Luffy had matched his own look with level and surprisingly calm eyes. He gave a heavy sigh,

"Hey kid, we'r –"

" – I have a name." Luffy interrupted with a small pout. Atsushi had to smile at this,

"Okay Luffy, we're here. So come back up to deck with me. You want to see the place you'll be staying at for the next few years, right?"

"Yea!"

"Good, than come with me…" But Luffy was already excitedly cambering up the ladder. Atsushi waited a while longer before going up. It was a shame the kid would have to go through the Boss's training and be used like that. As he began climbing up the ladder to head back to his duties, he wondered with a pang of regret just how long it would take before the boy's precious smile would be completely erased off of his childish face. There had been some just like him, he remembered. Some spirits were stronger than others but all, no matter if it had ranged from weeks to months to years; they had all eventually been broken. He wondered how long it would take for this one to break as well. Shaking the feeling of brief sadness from him, he climbed up to the deck. He shouldn't think of such things. After all, in the end, it was always about the money.

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_Yes, I know nothing too big happens in this chapter. I'm slowly building up the story. After this, we'll have one more chapter that takes place in the "past" and than we'll go to the present! So it's kind of like a really long... prologue of sorts. Sort of. XD_

_Reviews are greatly appreciated and mistakes that are pointed out to me will be fixed! ^^_


	3. Harbor 7

**When the Heart Calls Home**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own One Piece or any of its characters.

**WARNINGS for this chap: **Blood... mild torture. That is all!

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***Harbor 7***

The island was unlike anything Luffy had ever seen before. He looked around himself in awe. The Atsushi Ossan had given him sandals to wear before going onto land. Luffy didn't like it at first; he wanted to feel the sand underneath his feet but he did what he had been told all the same. They had been walking quite a while through a thick tropical forest with a tanned man leading him. The man was rather skinny but very tall. He wore all black and his dark brown hair was slicked back with heavy loads of gel and tied back into a small pony tail. He looked almost nervous for some strange reason. They were alone and were walking quickly. The tall guy kept looking behind himself, as if making sure that the boy was still behind him but Luffy was paying more heed to all the new sights that he was seeing. There were lush green plants growing everywhere. Large tropical trees rose high up in the air and spread large canopies above him, rich green vines dangling from the trees' branches. A few rays of golden sunlight broke through the thick canopies every now and then. And every so often there would be sight of a colourful bird flying just below the canopies. The light breeze rustling the leaves of the forest carried the scent of the ocean with it and the sounds of strange whistling were sometimes heard, probably that of some type of bird. To say that the island that Luffy was on was large would be an understatement.

Luffy still didn't understand why mother had sent him off onto the ship and what he would be doing at this strange new place, but he simply decided he would accept it and wait to see what would happen… for now. After a longer while of walking in silence the man before Luffy came to a stop and motioned for the boy to do the same. They were now in a small clearing in what seemed to be the middle of the forestry island. A thin outline of a square marked the middle of the clearing and beside it stood a large stone statue that had a face of what looked like a tribal mask with intricate designs on it. One hand was resting over the statue's heart, and the other was outstretched in an almost longing manner. There was a large "H7" marked on its bottom half. The tall guy that had led them here walked over to the statue and pushed one of the fingers of the outstretched hand in. Luffy watched in wonder as, magically, the large outline of the square next to the statue began to fall in on itself, revealing a long stretch of stairs leading down into a black hole. The tall guy looked like he had done this many times before for there was not a single hint of surprise on his tan face.

"Come." He said. Luffy silently obeyed, following after him into the hole. The stairs seemed to be never ending and when Luffy was beginning to get bored with seeing nothing but more stairs leading downwards in front of him, he finally reached level ground again. Before him was a long, dark hallway. The only lights were a few torches burning here and there that had been placed into the gray walls. When the two figures had reached the end of the hallway, they reached an even larger hallway. It was incredibly spacious and almost everywhere Luffy looked, there was a door every couple of feet apart from yet another door along the walls. They all had numbers on them.

_24…25…26…27…28… _Luffy silently read the black numbers on the doors that he passed by. "How many doors are there?" He couldn't help but ask, his curiosity beginning to peek again. The tall man didn't stop walking as he answered after a brief moment of hesitant silence, "… There are many kid."

"What are they for?" This time the tall guy didn't answer. There was a grim frown on his face but his eyes gave away nothing. They stopped walking when they got to a specific door that read, "Deletion Room" in thick black letters. It seemed to be the only door (at least from what Luffy could see) that was actually named and had no number on it. The tall guy knocked on the door with a heavy fist until a voice was heard from a hidden speaker, "What is it?"

"Got another new delivery for you Crocodile." The tall guy answered flatly.

"… Bring the child in." The voice replied.

Luffy found himself being roughly pushed into the now open doorway leading into a bright room. He heard the door close behind him again and he had to squint against the bright pale light in the room. When his eyes had adjusted to the white lighting, Luffy got to have a good look around himself. The room in which he was in was average sized. The walls were painted a ghastly white and to the right of the room there was a strange contraption. The contraption was also white and had an oval shape. It looked like it was lying down to Luffy. There were multiple buttons on its side. Luffy resisted the urge to go over and touch the strange thing. Before him, there was a man sitting next to the machine on a large chair. He had a long scar running across his face and wore a large green cloak. He had on a lazy expression and a cigar in his mouth to accompany it. His hair, like the tall guy, was also slicked back. But the most particular thing about him was the golden hook where his left hand should have been. His cold eyes looked the raven haired boy up and down, seeming to analyze him.

"So, this is the one?" He asked.

"He's the one." The tall guy gently pushed Luffy towards the man known as Crocodile. The boy stared at him with wide eyes. He wasn't sure that he liked the man sitting before him very much.

"I see… so kid, I saw you were eyeing this beauty here just a moment ago," the man patted the white contraption next to him, "Care to find out what it does?"

Instinct told Luffy to run, but the tall guy that had brought him here held him firmly by the shoulders and prevented him from doing so. Crocodile held some papers in hand and was currently flipping through them and scanning its contents. He looked up and an ominous smile graced his lips, "You are a perfect asset to me… Luffy. Come here and I'll show you how this lovely contraption here works. I promise that you'll enjoy it." The tall guy forced the boy forward until he was standing right next to the machine. Crocodile turned and pressed a couple of buttons on the machine, causing the top to open up and revealing a… _bed? _No, it wasn't a bed. Luffy had a feeling that whatever it was, it wasn't good. "NO!" He cried, bit, kicked and struggled when the tall guy lifted him up and placed him inside the machine onto the bed. The man ignored his feeble cries and strapped in his body with iron clasps; one large one across his small chest, two others firmly locking his hands in place, and yet again two others stationing his feet. The panicked boy managed to get in a good kick to the eye before his right foot was fully clasped in.

"Gah! Damn you little…!" He heard the man muttering curses as he quickly closed down the opening to the machine, leaving Luffy alone with his futile attempts to free himself. _What are they going to do to me? I have to get out of here, I have to run. Why can't I move! _"LET ME OUT YOU BASTARDS!" His attempts were becoming more desperate as he heard the machine come to life! The lights in the contraption went off and he was left in the dark as he could only helplessly wait to see what fate was going to befall him. Suddenly hot scorching pain went through his whole body and he let out a bloodcurdling scream! It felt like fire was going through his veins and burning every cell in his small body. Another scorching shot of pain went through his body as Luffy was still trying to recover from the first shot of unearthly pain. Another loud scream erupted from his throat. This process continued for a long time. More shots of pain rushing throughout his whole body over and over again until blood began gurgling out of Luffy's mouth. He coughed and let out one final scream as another shot of unbearable pain went up his body and his eyes saw white just before he was granted the relief of drifting into darkness, his writhing body now going completely limp.

**~Break~**

The brown eyed boy awoke, still inside the machine in which he was put. But the top was open and the lights were back on inside the contraption. He was confused, very confused. Where was he? Why was he here? But most importantly, _who am I? _The child wondered. Thinking back, he tried remembering what his own name was, or where he even was. But there was nothing. His whole memory was completely blank. It was almost like he knew that there was supposed to be something there, but the information he was looking for was locked behind a door and he wasn't able to reach it. Suddenly he heard a deep voice breaking into his thoughts,

"Crocodile wait. What would you have me do?"

"I'm assigning him to you. I'll leave it to you to train and teach him our ways." Another voice answered. The boy blinked when he heard something like a door shutting. He was caught by surprise when two large hands reached into the thing that he was in and released the clasps that were currently holding him down. When he was free, the boy stood up on shaky legs, wondering briefly why he was so tired. He got out of the machine and looked around himself. He had never been here before. At least, he didn't think he had been here before. There was only he and another man in the room. He looked up at him. The man had sharp grey eyes and was of average height. His face and hair was hidden behind a black hood. There was a cold air about him.

"Who are you Ossan?" The young child asked. The man was silent for a few moments.

"Naa? Are you deaf or something?" But the man didn't seem to have heard him. He ignored the comment and answered,

"I go by the name of Tetsuo. But you will refer to me as "Master," is that clear?" It wasn't a question.

The boy nodded. "I would tell you my name but I don't know who I am or where I come from… in fact, I don't remember anything at all!" He said, childishly cocking his head to the side.

Master was silent for a moment and than motioned for him to come and follow. He led the child out into the dark hallway, going past many doors with numbers on them.

"Oi Ossa – … I mean Master, why is it so quiet in here? Where are we?" He asked with curious eyes looking around this new place.

"There are many other people living in this place. But all the rooms are soundproof. Meaning that they cannot hear us, and we cannot hear them. The only room in these hallways that is not soundproof is the 'Deletion Room.'"

"The 'Deletion Room?' What room is that?"

Master simply said, "All that you need to know will soon be revealed to you. But for now, do not ask any more questions." That quieted the boy. He wanted to go exploring this place! He wanted to see what lurked behind the many mysterious doors! But despite his urge to do so, he obeyed quietly. After a while longer of walking past more doors with more numbers, the raven haired boy was beginning to get bored with the silence and began humming an off-tune song that he made up on the spot. The Master simply ignored it. Finally, they had arrived at their destination. They were standing in front of another door with the number _**56 **_painted on it. It was than that the boy also noticed a strange human-like figure carved right underneath the _**56**_. It looked almost completely human and yet it was very different. When he turned around to look at the other doors on the opposite side of this wall, he squinted to see that every other door also had a similar symbol to the one under door 56. And yet at the same time they were all slightly different than the next. He was distracted again when he heard a door open and turned around to see that Master was waiting for him to go into room 56. He stepped inside eagerly, wondering what it looked like inside. This room was about the same size as the room that he had come from. The room was empty though save for two beds; one to the left side of the room and the other to the right. Master closed the door behind him and faced the boy.

"You can choose which bed it is you wish to sleep in. There is a candle under each bed and some matches along with it in case you ever need more light than just the torch. The other bed however, will most likely be occupied by another person. That person will be your… room-mate."

"A room-mate? Cool! Who is it going to be?"

"I will now tell you what you need to know for now." Master ignored him. This annoyed the child but he didn't say anything. Instead he quietly listened.

"All you need to know is your name. You will know and accept that you know nothing about yourself but your name. Your name is Monkey D. Luffy and that is all that you will remember of yourself." He said with not a hint of emotion in his cold voice.

"Luffy," the boy tested it. It sounded nice… familiar somehow and yet it sounded so strange and distant at the same time. But the man was quiet, like he was expecting Luffy to reply to what he had just told him. He flashed him a bright grin that reached all the way up to his ears as he said happily, "Yea!"

Master had a sly but pleased smile come upon his face as he said, still in that cold emotionless tone,

"Welcome to 'Harbor 7' Luffy."

* * *

_Well, this is the last chapter taking place in the past! Next chapter we will travel into the present time! Reviews are always appreciated and mistakes pointed out to me will be gladly corrected! ^^ Flames will be used to warm me up! ^^_


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